Eleven MLAs from Himachal Pradesh, comprising six Congress rebel legislators and three independent legislators, have reportedly sought refuge in the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand amid a political turmoil in their home state, according to sources familiar with the matter on Saturday.
The Congress legislators arrived at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun on Friday afternoon and subsequently headed to a resort in Singtali, situated around 35 km from Rishikesh. Accompanying them were two BJP MLAs from Himachal Pradesh, all under tight security. A Haryana-registered security vehicle was observed stationed outside the resort on Saturday.
This move follows two days after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was summoned by the Congress high command on Thursday.
The Congress MLAs currently residing in the resort include Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala), Indradutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti), Chaitanya Sharma (Gagret), and Devendra Bhutto (Kutlehar). The independent MLAs accompanying them are Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur), Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), and KL Thakur (Nalagarh). Last month, these six rebels and three independents had voted in favor of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections, leading to an embarrassing loss for Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Despite holding a majority, the Congress lost, and the party promised to investigate the cross-voting.
The six MLAs were subsequently disqualified, with the rebels challenging the Speaker’s decision in the Supreme Court.
After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats were held by independents.
A BJP insider commented, “Eleven MLAs from Himachal Pradesh, including six Congress MLAs, have flown from Chandigarh to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun and are staying at a resort near Rishikesh. They will stay in Rishikesh until the Supreme Court hears the Speaker’s decision of disqualification.”
However, the Uttarakhand BJP state media in-charge, Manveer Singh Chauhan, stated, “We don’t have any information about Himachal Congress MLAs camping in Uttarakhand. If that has happened, it’s their internal matter.”
The Congress state unit labeled the development a “constitutional sin” committed by the BJP. Shanti Prasad Bhatt, state Congress spokesperson, questioned the BJP’s role, asking about the expenses for the rebel MLAs’ air travel and luxurious accommodations, as well as the total government expenditure for their security and the number of deployed security personnel.
In response, BJP MLA Bikram Singh Thakur defended their presence in Uttarakhand, saying, “We have come here. They (Congress) can do anything to these MLAs. That’s why we have sought security. We haven’t come here at the expenditure of the Congress or the state government.”
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!